16:19 She made him go to sleep on her lap42 and then called a man in to shave off43 the seven braids of his hair.44 She made him vulnerable45 and his strength left him.
tnHeb “on her knees.” The expression is probably euphemistic for sexual intercourse. See HALOT160–61s.v.בֶּרֶךְ.
43
tnHeb “she called for a man and she shaved off.” The point seems to be that Delilah acted through the instrumentality of the man. See J. A. Soggin, Judges (OTL), 254.
44
tnHeb “head.” By metonymy the hair of his head is meant.
45
tnHeb “She began to humiliate him.” Rather than referring to some specific insulting action on Delilah’s part after Samson’s hair was shaved off, this statement probably means that she, through the devious actions just described, began the process of Samson’s humiliation which culminates in the following verses.